This application makes reference to, incorporates the same herein, and claims all benefits accruing under 35 U.S.C. xc2xa7119 from my application WASHING MACHINE AND THE WASHING CONTROL METHOD filed with the Korean Industrial Property Office on Sep. 19, 2000 and there duly assigned Serial No. 54981/2000.
1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a fully automated washing machine, and more particularly to a washing machine and its washing method adapted to form a variety of water current according to power multi-switched by a power switching motor operated being separated from a drainage motor, thereby embodying a new washing method appropriate to cloths.
2. Description of the Prior Art
A water tub 1 according to the prior art includes, as illustrated in FIG. 1, a driving motor 3 formed at a bottom external side thereof for generating a driving force, and power transmission means 2 centrally formed at a bottom surface, a drainage hole 1a connected to a drainage hose 4 disposed at a predetermined distance from the power transmission means 2 for draining water in the water tub 1 and a drainage motor 6 arranged at a predetermined distance from the drainage hole 1a for controlling the drainage hole 1a. 
FIG. 2 is a schematic drawing for illustrating power transmission means 2 according to the prior art, where the means 2 is mounted with a pulley 12 at a lower tip end relative to periphery of a driving shaft 10, with the pulley 12 coupled by a driving shaft coupling 14 at an upper side thereof, and the driving shaft coupling 14 is rotably provided thereon with a gear case 16.
The gear case 16 is mounted at an upper periphery thereof with a rotable drum 18 and the drum 18 is equipped at an upper inner peripheral surface thereof with a driven shaft coupling 20. The driven shaft coupling 20 is mounted thereon with a spin-dry tub 24 coupled by a plurality of bolts 22. The spin-dry tub 24 is equipped thereon with a pulsator 28 via a bolt 26, and is also arranged with a unidirectional clutch bearing 46 abraded by rotational direction of the gear case 16 to rotate the gear case to one direction.
At an upper periphery of the driving shaft coupling 14 and at a lower periphery end of the gear case 16 there is mounted a clutch spring 30 and the clutch spring 30 is peripherally formed with a clutch holder 32 while the clutch holder 32 is peripherally provided with a sleeve member 36 via a brake ring 34.
The clutch spring 30 is connected at one tip end thereof to the gear case 16 while the clutch holder 32 is connected to the other tip end thereof. The sleeve member 36 is formed at one side thereof with a clutch lever 38, while the clutch lever 38 and brake lever 40 are cooperatively moved by a connecting lever 42 connected to the drainage motor 6.
The drainage motor 6 is installed at one side thereof with a connecting bracket 8 via a steel wire 8a for controlling the power transmission means 2 and opening and closing of a drainage hole 1a. 
The connecting bracket 8 is cooperated to the drainage motor 6 during its operation at a first step to activate the brake lever 40 connected to the connecting lever 42 at the power transmission means 2 and simultaneously open the drainage hole 1a. 
In the power transmission means 2 thus constructed, when the washing course is selected, the drainage motor becomes inoperated, while, simultaneously the driving shaft coupling 14, driving shaft 10 and the pulsator 28 connected to the power line are rotated to form water current to water supplied to the spin-dry tub 24 and to agitate the laundry.
Meanwhile, when the spin-dry course is selected, the connected bracket 8 is pulled via the steel wire 8a connected to one side of the drainage motor 6 according to operation of the drainage motor at its first step while the connecting bracket 8 pulls a cap that has been blocking the drainage hole 1a with the connecting lever 42 connected to one side thereof, to thereby drain the water in the water tub 1 through the drainage hose 4 connected to the drainage hole a. 
In other words, the washing machine is disposed with a unidirectional brake band 44 formed at a periphery of the drum 18 for controlling the rotation of the spin-dry tub 24 in the water tub 1 and the pulsator 28, a unidirectional clutch bearing 46 formed at a periphery of the gear case 16, a clutch spring 30 for connecting and disconnecting the power between a washing axle line (by way of example, the driving shaft coupling connected to the driving shaft) and a spin-dry axle line (by way of example, the gear case), and the drainage motor 6 formed at a bottom side of the water tub 1 for controlling the operation of the unidirectional brake band 44 and the clutch spring 30 and opening and closing of the drainage hole 1a. 
However, there is a problem in the washing machine thus constructed according to the prior art in that the drum 18 is braked not to rotate to both directions by operations of the unidirectional brake band 44 and unidirectional clutch bearing 46 and the washing axle line is rotated while power with the spin-dry axle line is disconnected by unwinding operation of the clutch spring 30, such that the pulsator 28 is rotated forward and backward while the spin-dry tub 24 is not rotated during the washing course to thereby prevent from making more than one kind of water current.
There is another problem in that the water current made by the pulsator 28 which is relatively strong cannot adequately cope with a variety of cloths, thereby damaging the cloths.
The present invention is disclosed to solve the aforementioned problems and it is an object of the present invention to provide a washing machine adapted in clutch structure to have a power switching motor for controlling a brake band and a clutch spring in multi-stage and for determining water current embodiment and washing method.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a washing control method for embodying various water current according to the clutch structure and operation of drainage motor to cope with varying clothes and to make an adequate water current for protection of clothes thereby preventing in advance damage to the cloths.
In accordance with one object of the present invention, there is provided a fully automated washing machine, the washing machine comprising:
a spin-dry tub rotably disposed in a water tub and connected to a drum and a gear case via a power line;
a pulsator rotably disposed in the spin-dry tub and connected to a driving shaft coupling and a driving shaft via power line;
a brake band for braking and releasing the rotation of the drum;
a clutch spring for disconnecting and connecting the power of the driving shaft coupling and the gear case; and
power switching motor for controlling in multi-stage operations of clutch spring and the brake band.
In accordance with another object of the present invention, there is provided a washing method comprising:
a first washing mode wherein only a pulsator is repeated in forward and backward rotations while a power switching motor is inoperative;
a second washing mode wherein the pulsator and a spin-dry tub conversely repeat forward and backward rotations according to a first step control of the power switching motor;
a third washing mode therein the spin-dry tub and the pulsator repeat forward and backward rotation in one direction according to a second step control of the power switching motor; and
a fourth washing mode wherein the pulsator rotates in forward and backward rotations according to forward and backward rotations of a driving motor while the spin-dry tub repeats only forward rotation under the third washing mode.